Wheeling Central Baseball Clinches Sectional Title
Nick Henthorn Trending
ELM GROVE – Regional tournament-bound.
Wheeling Central made that journey come to fruition Wednesday afternoon at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex, eliminating a quality Cameron squad, 11-0 in five innings, in the WVSSAC Class A Region I, Section I final on the Wheeling University diamond at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Ballfields Complex.
The top-seeded Maroon Knights of first-year head coach Todd Cover improved to a superb 23-3 on the campaign. The freshly-minted OVAC Class 3A champions will now take on Williamstown in a best-of-3 series with a state tournament berth on the line. The first game is set for Monday at Williamstown. Game 2 will be Tuesday at I-470, with the third game, if necessary, being played on Wednesday in Williamstown.
The third-seeded Dragons of Coach Adam Angel, meanwhile, bowed out with a sparkling 21-9 mark. They advanced to the title game by ousting second-seeded Madonna, 3-1, Tuesday.
Central wasted no time taking control of the truncated contest. The Maroon Knights plated five runs in the first inning and were on cruise control thereafter.
The early scoring outburst made things easier for Central mound ace Brayden Cover. The talented right-hander yielded just two hits while fanning six and walking just two.
"Brayden didn't have his best stuff today. He probably started out throwing in the mid-80s," Coach Cover said. "When he has command of his three pitches he is really tough. He did face a lineup that had several quality bats and got it done.
"It is nice to put runs on the board early. It helps a team relax and play more comfortably," he added. "And we were able to do that. Cameron is a good ball club and has some D-I arms."
Central's five-run first started when leadoff hitter Braxton Billick walked. Eli Tucker and Gary Hatfield followed with singles, the latter driving in Billick. After a strikeout, Zayne Rosnick singled in Tucker and Hatfield. Standout catcher Koy Lipinski singled before Rosnick scored on a wild pitch. Designated hitter Kade Koroneos capped the outburst with an RBI single.
The Maroon Knights added a run in the second without a hit, making the most of two hit-batters, a walk and a wild pitch.
Coach Cover's charges made it 8-0 in the third. Billick singled with Tucker reaching on an error. Both runners came home on another Dragon miscue.
Central pushed the game to the mercy-rule level with a three-spot in the fourth. Lipinski singled before Cover and Koroneos both coaxed walks to load the bases. Tucker cleared the bags with a rocket triple to left, making it an 11-0 issue.
Coy Angel — a Wright State recruit who was just returning from a knee injury - started on the hill for Cameron. He gave way to frosh Preston Hartley in the third. Angel struck out five and walked two. Hartley fanned three and passed two.
"You have to be able to score and we could not do that tonight. Brayden pitched a very good game," Coach Angel said. "Wheeling Central scored early and they constantly put pressure on us and challenged us. They are very well-coached and are going to be a very tough out for anyone in the tournament.
"But we had a nice season. This senior bunch has done a lot. They have won 80 games in four years and won two OVAC titles," he continued. "But we have a lot of quality young kids coming back. The future looks good for us."
Tucker and Lipinski led Central's eight-hit attack with two hits each. Lipinski also sparkled behind the plate, gunning down two Cameron base-runners.
"We split with Williamstown in the regular season. They are obviously a quality team," Coach Cover said. "We just need to play like we are capable of and not make things easy for them.
"This group has been fun to coach. We have great camaraderie," he added. "They don't care who gets the credit. They are a selfless group who love to compete and win."